In July
I thought others might be interested in the process, and inspired to think outside the square themselves, so I will try and include as much detail as possible
As you might know, our truck Dusty was pretty much ready to go, then was written off in a crash. We have rebuilt another using the good bits salvaged off the wrecked Dusty before it went to auction.
There's still quite a lot to do to the vehicle in terms or preparation which I might cover in the thread as I go.
So far, the plan is we are getting the Vehicle shipped to Port Kembla just out of Sydney, where we will hang around for a bit and get things sorted out.
From there we will progress up the coast right up to the Cape, head back down and accross the Savannah Way towards Alice. From Alice head out across the Simpson Desert to Birdsville, the down to Oodnadatta, then work our way back to Brisbane and ship from there back to Auckland. Depending on time and how the truck goes, it might be achievable at a leisurely pace by the end of November.
That's the basic itinerary anyway.
We a shipping into Sydney so we can get some work done to the truck before we set off, so have roughly two weeks to kill there, so it's a good opportunity to to get things sorted out.
You can't ship the vehicle with any personal items, food or gas cylinders a on board. I'm hoping I can persuade them to let me take an empty gas cylinder though. So that time in Sydney can be used to get the shopping done to stock the truck up, get gas bottles filled, organise Desert passes and permits and just generally twiddle our thumbs patiently waiting
How much to ship, how long will it take and with who??
GT International Logistics has been good so far with their quote of $3000 to get it to Sydney, all expenses/fees covered apart from insurance. It should take about 13 days to get their and clear customs.
To get the good shipping rate, I have to some how squeak the truck in under 2150mm total height. I'm going to have to work on that, it's currently 2180mm.
When you take a vehicle overseas, you apply for a Passport for your vehicle, this is called a Carnet De Passages en Douane, or more commonly just a Carnet (pronounced Car-nay). Basically it means you just run your vehicle on your NZ plates and Rego for the duration your there. In NSW Sydney that's all you need, just the Carnet and your rolling.
Once you leave NSW and head into Queensland, you need Compulsory 3rd Party Insurance and an Overseas Vehicle Permit. To get the permit you need to submit the vehicle for a basic safety check.
Link to some info if you want to know more:
http://www.aaa.asn.au/touring/bringing.htm#carnet
So right now we have some rough shipping quotes, a rough date , and a rough plan.
We can't do anymore organizing until 6 weeks out from when we want to go, as we can't book the shipping until then as they don't know where the boat will be this far out from when we want to go.
That means we can't book flights, accom in Sydney or even apply for the Carnet (need to put shipping dates on the carnet) until we have the shipping dates. Yay
The ground work is done however, so time to focus on the truck for the next month or so.
Some of the work that needs doing off the top of my head:
Roof rack to modify so it fits in the back of the truck for shipping due to height restrictions
Extra water tanks to mount
Interior cupboards to modify again
2 more Defender steel rims to source to make a set of 6
Wheel bearings to re grease/check/replace
50mm suspension lift to remove
New shocks to fit
The list is endless, but I WILL get it done
I'm open to questions, suggestions, and comments and all left field ideas.
high country is magic!!
A Queensland issued Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance certificate for the required period
), so should be sweet. It doesn't have to comply with any of AU's rules as its not being "imported" as such, its just "Visiting" 
